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Fredi: Uggla's production no different from Utley's

Fredi: Uggla's production no different from Utley's

7/29/13: Dan Uggla doubles through to left field, scoring Chris Johnson from first to even the score at 7 in the bottom of the fifth inning

By Jay Greenberg
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Special to MLB.com |

PHILADELPHIA -- Anyone can see that Dan Uggla came into Saturday's game hitting .183, so Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez decided to run a blind test to prove his second baseman's value.

"I wrote down both lines and asked my coaches, 'Who's the other guy?' I even said it was another second baseman in the [National League] East.

"They finally got it."

Gonzalez didn't need to drop the clue that it was another guy whose name starts with a "U". But as far as the manager was concerned, "U" stands for "unfair" whenever Uggla's batting average is used to define his season.

Utley came into Saturday night's game hitting .272 with 16 homers and 53 RBIs. Uggla was .183, with 21 homers, 53 RBIs, and 29 more walks than Utley's 40, narrowing their difference in on-base percentage to 33 percentage points.

"There is some productivity there, which is what I am trying to say," said Gonzalez. "Obviously you want .260-.270 with 21 homers and that kind of stuff, it makes it look better, but you compare those two numbers and you scratch your head.

"I'm thinking Utley had to have scored a lot more runs [Utley leads only 62 to 59], but he doesn't because Danny walks a lot."

Jay Greenberg is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.